Repercussion
by Zeff N Company
Summary: Based on The Talk - I was thirteen once, and while I was still a boy myself, I attempted to teach another how to be a man. That boy did become a man and he has found someone. He is ready to get married. And here I am, preparing to be his best man.


_You folks asked for it, and I hereby answer (if you haven't read The Talk yet, you can always read it separately)._

_Several things helped this along: one was the soundtracks of Kingdom Hearts II - the orchestral version of Hikari, for one. Another is a series of fictional weddings spanning series of cartoons and anime alike. I left personal experience out of this, as I wanted to keep the fantasy element in place - let the dream linger for a little while_…

_My only regret was that I didn't get to finish this in time last year, but now it is done, and it is here. Hope you all enjoy it for what it is.  
_

* * *

I brought this upon myself.

That's all I keep saying to myself; that's all that I can say. Still, I won't embarrass myself further by denying the fateful truth that I never saw it coming. While I'm at it, I'll also admit that I'm still not ready for this. It's a funny thing with people – we're a lot braver and bolder with our actions when they don't come back to haunt us.

I was thirteen once, and while I was still a boy myself, I attempted to teach another how to be a man. I taught him to not take anything at face value, to keep his wits about him always. I taught him to understand and respect any symbol he chose to bear, and I taught him about respecting women. Most importantly, I taught him about love – I taught him that, even if the world rejected him, the one who loved him would always stand by him, always looking upon him as a hero.

I also taught him – damn me – that if he did not find the love of his life by the time he was thirty, to marry his best friend.

I should have seen it coming.

That boy did become a man – in spite of me and my big mouth – and while the details are sketchy, he has found someone. He is not yet thirty, but he is ready to get married. And here I am, preparing to be his best man.

Sitting on the table is the card he sent my way, forcing me back from the Coliseum – Hercules had gotten his own invitation as well, with specific orders to make sure I did not escape my imposed duties – and scrawled on the card in writing I faintly find familiar are the words that condemned me for what I did as a young and foolish boy:

_Zack,_

_You started this. You finish it._

_Leonhart_

I sweep the card aside to reach my black jacket. While I prepare, I know I have absolutely no idea what I would say. "It all started with me telling this guy to find the love of his life or settle for the best friend – guess which one he did?" No, too awkward. "Both of them have always been little brothers to me?" That one's even worse. "In the power vested in me by-" wait, no, that's what Merlin says later. Shoot…

There is noise outside – a _lot_ of noise, decked in colors that should never see the light of day. It distracts me from my desperate attempts at winging a speech, but I can't stem my amusement upon recognizing each and every source of that ruckus.

Again, Cid is getting in as much frustration over his imposed role as he can. From what I heard, he had been asked to play "Dad down the aisle", considering his part in raising one of the two who are about to be wed this day. But from what I also heard, he was severely ticked over the self-imposed notion that he was giving one of his kids away to another of his kids. Implied incest wasn't sitting well with him, but at least both "bride" and groom convinced him to follow through.

Him aside, I can hear Aerith Gainsborough, the adoring and lovely maid of honor, and all the other also adoring and lovely bridesmaids running about to make sure things are going as planned: with as much extravagance, dignity and, in Yuffie's words, faithfulness to the romantic dream as possible. Considering that both men will be wearing tuxedos – just of different colors to represent their individual roles – and leaving neither for a dress with flowers to be fussed over, the poor lady friends need something else to channel their energy and creativity into.

Then there is a loud garble of some kind, and I see the blue, momentarily quadruped and permanently noisy ring bearer on the ceiling. He is biting the pillow with a force that threatens to rip it, as he guards the rings with every fiber of his small fluffy body. I worry, for a little bit, that he might overdo it and really tear the satin when a tired sound rumbles from the other man in the room with me. At once, Stitch releases his hold on the ceiling and drops into the waiting arms of said other man.

"Kata baka-dooka?" he asks hopefully around a toothy mouthful of pillow.

"No, you may not," the groom answers evenly, causing the pair of chubby arms to slump dejectedly.

"Aw…"

I forget myself for a minute, and I watch him deal with this situation as he deals with so many I've seen in such a short period of time. He is calm and collected, stoic against opposition while gentle with companion. He lets the little creature climb all over him, reminding the little guy to be careful with the rings a final time, and resumes focus on his tie while ignoring the fact that a blue alien koala is sitting on his head. I laugh aloud, and by the careful arch of an eyebrow I know he heard me.

"You're taking this day of splendid mayhem awfully well." At my choice of words, he huffs as though offended; his small smile states otherwise.

"Well, when Yuffie insisted on being involved in the wedding plans," he explains, still ignoring Stitch as the alien starts to ape him, "I mentally prepared myself for a day of splendid mayhem."

"What else did you prepare yourself for?"

"… What do you mean?" His words are strangely hesitant, knowing what words I might answer him with. And then I do say those words we both don't need to hear.

"The rest of your life from this point forward," I hear myself say. "The good, the bad, the unexpected, the inevitable…"

… _The last, final pain when what is joined is forced to separate again._

I don't have to say it – it's on our minds, as it will continue to be every time we take a moment's pause to check on it. I don't expect him to answer that. How can I expect for him to say the correct words when I myself do not know what they are?

He pauses with the inspection of his tie, earning a confused hum from the passenger on his head. He gives Stitch an assuring pat on the shoulder, shooing the ring bearer back outside to give us some peace for "man talk" or whatever it is we need to get about with. The little guy knows to take the hint and scoots quickly. We are alone with one another, but we do not face each other. I am pretending to find lint on my tux, and he inspects his own to ensure perfection.

"I can't be prepared for everything," he suddenly says, so softly that I nearly miss it, "but I'm prepared for him."

I look up, at the groom who now looks back at me. There is a quiet reassurance about him, a strong and steady confidence despite the nervousness. He does not waver as his eyes bear into mine. I think back for a minute, and suddenly I'm thirteen again, and there is a scared little boy standing before me, scared of the world and what to do with it. I'm talking to him again, pretending to know what I'm saying and teaching, and again he is looking at me with such confusion, neither understanding nor questioning my words.

"For the rest of my life from this point forward, he'll be there beside me, as he has always been."

The boy is gone, replaced by the man I see now. He stands tall and proud, so much bigger than the kid I had spoken to. The world probably still scares him at times – who knows how often it continues to scare me – but he knows now what to do. He knows now what he wants, and if the future has anything to say about it, he will deal with what comes his way. From this point forward, up until the very end.

Conversation is forced to a halt between us, as time catches up. We take ourselves out the room, down the hallway, out the castle altogether, to that one special place where the ceremony is to be held. Those not of this world were initially curious as to why the heir of Radiant Garden would not wed in the castle, but we who knew these guys when they were kids, and we who watched these guys grow up… we know:

Up on these cliffs overlooking the Great Maw, two best friends used to play here, before they became the adults who would venture below for their sparring. I see those kids now, standing in the same spots they had once stood so very long ago. One is in black, waiting. The other is in white, coming up to meet him. A hand is held out, palm up in offering. It is taken, clasped with strength, reaffirming the bond between them.

I have the honor of standing here, watching them look at each other, and I understand my own advice of then, as I understand the advice I give myself now. There is a time when a boy becomes a man, and there is also a time when a friend becomes a best man. He is chosen for his place because of what he did and what he means to the couple. He may feel the momentary glow of pride, the chilling fear of responsibility, and even the urge to drink himself into absolute and shameful incoherence.

But as he stands by the people who chose him, he sees what he truly did for them. He knows that they are not ready, no matter what they say. They know that nothing will be easy, that the priceless "happily ever after" is so very rare. They know that there will be pain, perhaps more pain than joy. They also know that there will be things that catch them off guard, tearing them down into dire states of vulnerability.

Yet, they have one another, and will stand by each other for those moments. For every little thing that they are not ready to take on their own, they are prepared for the other to have their back. They are not alone in their fights. Their joined hands, their little bands of metal will remind them of that fact for the rest of their lives.

Once, I was an idiot boy who told a kid to keep an eye out for the love of his life. If he wanted to be a hero, he would need that one person by his side, so even if the world thought little of him, at least the one who loved him would always… _always_… think of him as a hero. Then I told him that if he did not find them by the time he hit thirty, to marry his best friend. Who would have thought the partner he chose would be both?

I am watching them, watching how they both see it – they are best friends, and at the same time they love one another. They have seen the bad and the good that they are capable of, but above all that, they see a hero who will stand by their side through it all. Whatever they are challenged with, they will meet it together. When they have to fall, they will fall together. The kid was right: I had started this with my words as a clumsy idiot, and here I am to finish it – to bless it – with my words as their steadfast friend.

I had well and truly brought this upon myself.

And for that, I am proud.


End file.
